


Embers, Unspoken

by verdantberry



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26209177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verdantberry/pseuds/verdantberry
Summary: A simple one-shot revolving around Roy and Riza's unspoken love and intense bond.
Relationships: Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang
Comments: 11
Kudos: 31





	Embers, Unspoken

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my very first Fullmetal Alchemist fic. I hope you enjoy it!

For Riza Hawkeye, there was something both serene and nerve wracking about returning to her home for the night. On one hand, she could let her guard down for a moment, as evidenced by the enthusiastic dog that leapt up to greet her. On the other hand, she would have to sleep eventually, try as she might to put it off. She sighed, taking off her coat and unlacing her boots before trudging into her room. Shadows plastered each corner, reminding her for a brief moment of the pronged beast that had likely lurked there in what felt like ages ago. Riza didn’t bother with the lights; she would have to turn them out eventually anyway, and quivering in fear of a long gone demon wasn’t something she had any intention of doing. She barely felt the bed beneath her as she lay down, staring up at the ceiling, sighing to herself. 

The night was always like this; soon, visions of her past sins would flood her head and hover there like a swarm of pestilence, a scourge upon her mind. Images of the people she had killed, people laying in the dirt, a dark crimson flower staining their clothing. She never tried to clear her mind when the dead visited; they should at least live on in her memory, bringing their hatred and their sorrow to a bubbling boil inside her head. If they could no longer sob with the same breath she had snuffed out, what right did she have to silence them once more? And yet, despite the acceptance, Riza could not help but wish they would quiet, just for a moment. She was doing all she could to rebuild their land. It did not absolve her of her sins but maybe it could earn her even one night’s respite from the harrowing cries of anguish, the scent of blood and gunpowder still thick and suffocating as it filled up her room each night….

A hearty knock sounded at the door, the old wood creaking as if trying to withdraw from the enthusiastic chorus of greeting that beat against its thin material.

Riza sat up immediately, reaching for her gun that lay on her nightside table. She held it behind her back as she got out of bed, crossing the area to the door. It felt like an even longer walk this time than the initial one over to her bed. When she reached the door, she opened her mouth to ask who it was, before sighing to herself. Who else would it be? She put her gun down on the table.

“May I have a word? I’m sorry to bother you at this hour.” 

He spoke with his usual formality in structure, but the tone was different; he was in one of his happier moods, his voice filled with boyish laughter, muffled slightly by the wood between them. 

Riza felt a small smile light itself upon her lips despite her mood. 

“Of course. It’s no trouble,” she found herself saying as she unlocked the door, letting him in.

And there he was; an image to tower over the shadows in her room, with dark hair to match. Roy Mustang, off duty and clad in a white button up shirt and dark blue pants. She no longer felt her heart skip when she looked at him, although it was not due to a loss of affection; instead, she now felt her heart settle, a contentment that can only be found when one is finally, truly home. 

He smiled at her as he closed the door, although it was more of a smirk really. She felt herself return it slightly, her nerves calming a bit. It was never odd to see him off duty, but the nomenclature with which they referred to one another had begun to shift, what with the promotions and all. Whichever term he referred to her with next would set the tone for the evening; professional and friendly, or something else. Something more. She kept her face relatively even and stony, so as not to assume what he would choose. 

“It’s nice to see you,” he said a little stiffly. She suddenly realized she hadn’t said anything yet; the night must be getting to her. 

“You as well,” she responded, noting that he had yet to choose how they would refer to one another. Normally, she would have taken the initiative, but tonight wasn’t the night for that. There were too many crimson flowers blooming in her mind, too much stained sand, too many innocents splayed out on the ground…. 

She faintly heard Roy ask her if she was alright, and she nodded. She normally was not interrupted at this hour; normally, she was able to sit with the screams. If she was able to sleep, it was while she heard them. If she was able to dream, it was of them. Now the memories hit her like a tidal wave, furious at the interruption, furious at Riza for wanting a moment of solace.

“Riza,” Roy said, and her eyes snapped open. She didn’t even remember closing them. She remembered lying to Envy, feigning how Roy spoke to her. These days, although it was a rarity, her words to Envy were no longer a lie. And how sweet it was to hear her own name, to hear it from him in that familiar timbre that helped to both calm her and remind her of her identity. She gazed up at him, locking their eyes together. In the darkness of his eyes, she saw their shared sins swimming about, his marred by flame and hers by blood.

She didn’t need to say anything else. He knew exactly what haunted her, what thoughts tore at the edge of her mind, for they tore at him as well. The immediate understanding of her pain was part of why Riza knew that she loved him, but it was far from the only reason. It was the way he knew what she felt immediately, from the slightest waver in her voice to the thinness of her smile. It was how intensely he fought for the people he had lost, for the people he chose to defend, and for the people he loved. That burning passion and desire for a better world, where sins like theirs could never thrive again, was something they both felt. A kinship in their yearning for a more just world, in their desire to protect and to help the downtrodden. And still there was more; even his boyish humor made her smile, the unexpected goofiness that still permeated the hardened man before her. And so when she gazed up at the man she loved from afar while staying so close, knowing full well he loved her just as fiercely, she felt the shadows creep backwards ever so slightly. 

He had not said a word since he uttered her name, and yet she had told him all she needed to. Those unspoken words hung in the air between them like suspended embers, the distance far too much at this point.

And so she closed the gap, pressing her lips against his cheek in a kiss that said the words for them. 

“Thank you, Roy,” she said, ensuring that her voice remained solidly her own despite the rare occurrence of first names. His name felt foreign on her tongue, yet still familiar in a way. The familiarity was a welcome stranger to her, one she hoped to grow more acquainted with.

He gazed back at her, slightly taken aback but evidently thrilled. 

“I didn’t exactly do much, but if that’s the kind of response I’ll get, I’ll keep it up,” he said, that childlike humor filling his voice. How unbecoming of a future leader. How becoming of the man she loved. 

Riza rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help smiling. “I was going to make some tea, if you want to stay a while longer.”

When he nodded, that smirk she loved so much still present on his face, she felt the shadows retreat entirely. 

The work they were doing wasn’t enough. It would never wash away the blood on her hands, nor the ash on his, but they were still making strides towards a better world. If she could not forgive herself, at least she could make the effort for the rest of her life to better the land she had helped ravage. And she wouldn’t do it alone.

Riza knew their words remained unspoken. There was no one else with whom she would rather share in a silence quite like this.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this piece, please let me know! It would mean a lot. Have a wonderful day/night.


End file.
